Monster Hunter Rise was, perhaps, one of my favorite games of 2021. It’s hard to believe that over a year has passed since its release on the Nintendo Switch. My original playtime for it totaled around 120 hours. So, as you can imagine, I was elated about the announcement of the Sunbreak expansion. Nothing had me more excited to sink my teeth back into the game and, after spending over 50 hours with Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, it feels like the expansion was well worth the wait.

Sunbreak builds upon an already solid foundation, extrapolating on what made Monster Hunter Rise so good. That was the range of movement players could now perform with the aide of the Wirebug. It’s a mechanic I can’t really see myself living without at this point, and Sunbreak adds to this through the implementation of “Morphed Wirebugs.” This makes an already essential mechanic all that more useful.

There are a total of two Morphed Wirebugs available, Gold and Ruby, which have individual effects. The Ruby Wirebug increases the amount of damage done by Mounted Punishes, whereas the Gold Wirebug affects the amount of items a monster will drop when it is attacked during wyvern riding. Since I love to min-max, the Gold Wirebug became my evolution of choice, as it helped me farm items to craft and acquire better armor and weapons.

Welcome to New Raccoon City’s downfall

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Sonic Frontiers is Game Informer's latest cover story, and what's a good cover story without a Rapid-Fire interview? Join us as we sit down with industry legend Takashi Iizuka, Sonic Team creative officer, and ask him 123 burning questions about The Blue Blur's next big adventure, all in beautiful 4K!

Who better to lead today's interview than one of GI's biggest Sonic fans? Join Brian Shea as he sits down with Iikuza to chat about what fans can expect from Sonic Frontiers. They discuss what characters will appear in the upcoming title, the difference between open-world and open-zone, and so much more.

Iizuka isn't just versed in the future of one of gaming's icons, though. He's also here to talk about his favorite titles of all time, comment on the beef between Sonic and Mario, and expound upon the fact that he didn't actually know his hedgehog was going to appear in a recent Disney movie. What other secrets does the Sonic Team creative officer have up his sleeves? You'll just have to watch the latest Rapid-Fire to find out!

How do you keep a nearly 20-year-old game fresh and relevant? According to the team behind the colossal, space-based MMO EVE Online, you do it by constantly reinvesting in your infrastructure and by working to keep your new player experience–those early hours that introduce newcomers to the basics of the game’s…

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And the ‘research’ he did for the new Kung Fu Panda show

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Relic Entertainment has announced that Company Of Heroes 3 will parachuting onto Steam on November 17th. They also unveiled new details about its second North African campaign this evening, which will offer a more traditional, narrative-led single-player experience compared to its more open-ended Italian campaigh, which was revealed last year. We had hoped to bring you more hands on details of this new campaign this evening, but in classic RTS fashion, things didn't quite go according to plan. Sorry about that folks. Here are the headlines instead.

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With so many variations of Minecraft, it may be challenging to keep track of the ongoing updates and newest installments. One aspect, in particular, is the Minecraft Preview, the latest system added to the popular game. If you are curious about this specific tool, we’ll tell you what the program is and how to install it.

What Is Minecraft Preview? Answered

Minecraft Preview is a modernized version of the Bedrock Beta program for the game. As the system progresses, its primary goal is to increase platform compatibilities and allow players to test new features using a different app/game.

While the Bedrock Beta has certain restrictions, including its limitations of a select few platforms (Xbox, Windows, and Android), Minecraft Preview expands gameplay by letting you play the Beta and the released version on the same device or console. In addition, the latest program has integrated with consoles, such as iOS, Xbox, and Windows 10/11, with a mission to add more in the future, including the Minecraft Launcher.

Once everything is up and running for the Minecraft Preview, the Beta will no longer be available; however, players can still interact with the older program until it finally retires.

How to Install Minecraft Preview

Because everyone plays Minecraft on different platforms and devices, you can partake in the Preview version in various ways. Here are the confirmed methods available for iOS, Windows, and Xbox.

Relic Entertainment is bringing its World War II real-time-strategy franchise Company of Heroes back to PC with the third chapter of the series, Company of Heroes 3.

A few days ago, I tested a single-player mission set in the relatively neglected (at least in video games) North African front, prompting me to play the Afrika Korps faction and their Italian allies as they push through a village occupied by the allied forces.

Being an introductory mission, it was quite scripted, designed to let the player get to grips with the mechanics of the game, which can be quite complex, albeit not so complicated that a novice to the series should be intimidated. If you have any experience with RTS games, you’ll likely feel right at home, but following the tutorial steps should ease you into the gameplay of Company of Heroes 3 quite efficiently even if you’re not familiar with the genre.

The mission starts by showcasing one of the new elements of the game, which is the ability to have your infantry ride on tanks, which is quite handy if you want to move them quickly from one location to another.

Another element you immediately have to get to grips with is how to avoid having your initial contingent of tanks and infantry slaughtered at the first contact with the enemy.

Today Sega and Relic Entertainment announced the release date of the upcoming RTS game Company of Heroes 3.

The game will launch on PC via Steam on November 17, 2022, with pre-orders available today.

We also get the reveal of the North Africa campaign, which is a more traditional and narrative-driven experienced compared to the previously announced Italian Dynamic Campaign, which offers a branching, open-ended experience.

We also learn that the game will have both digital and physical Premium Editions.

The digital one includes the Devil’s Brigade DLC Pack, containing cosmetics based on the first elite commando units of World War II, plus a Premium Victory Point cosmetic, a Premium M4 Sherman cosmetic, a Premium HQ Cosmetic, and the Expansion Pack year 1.

The physical one comes with the same DLCs and expansion pack plus a Service Medal, Pocket Compass, Collector’s Book, and more.

You can see them in the gallery below alongside a cinematic trailer. If you’d like to learn more about the game, you can read our hands-on preview.

Incidentally, if you don’t want to wait for the release, you can sign up for Relic’s community feedback program, COH-Development, to gain access to one mission from the new campaign today and until July 19.

I’m pretty positive it’s the same mission I’ve played for my preview, so you can form your own impressions.

At the risk of simply repeating some marketing blurb, "Humanising the battlefield" is apparently one of Relic's three key "franchise pillars" for Company of Heroes. The other two are "emergent storytelling" and "cinematic warfare," for those interested, and while those two probably sound a bit more exciting for the average player, it's the first that probably holds the most importance today.

This is because the setting for Company of Heroes 3, due this November, is a delicate one. There are two campaigns, one in Italy and the Mediterranean, and the other, where this preview focused, in North Africa. The North African "theatre" of the Second World War is one dominated by armoured warfare, and is also the place were Erwin Rommel, the commander of the Nazis' Deutsches Afrika Corps (DAK), earned his reputation as the "Desert Fox".

The delicacy here comes from that reputation. Rommel's Afrika Korps was something Relic described as "heavily requested by our community," while Rommel himself was built up by the Germans, and then Allies, as a brilliant but detached tactician who sought to wage a "war without hate" and an almost victim of Nazi rule - something since referred to as the "Rommel myth", given the fact that plenty of war crimes still persisted in that region throughout the period of his command.

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Have you heard of Chainsaw Man? Guess what his deal is.

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Following their well-recieved appearance in last month's Shredder's Revenge, the ever-enduring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still aren't quite done with video games in 2022; as previously announced, Konami is giving the fearsome foursome their very own compilation of retro titles later this year, and a few new details have now emerged.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, as the compilation is known, is being handed by Digital Eclipse and gathers together 13 Konami-developed titles - released for 8-bit and 16-bit home consoles, portables, and arcade in the 80s and 90s - alongside various new quality of life features and supplementary content.

First, the full list of games included in the Cowabunga Collection:

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Riot Games is continuing to reveal news about the upcoming Star Guardian 2022 event coming to its popular MOBA League of Legends.

Today we learn that the event will include “a new generation of Star Guardians” together with some known faces, and more specifically Kai’Sa, Akali, Sona, Taliyah, Rell, Ekko, Quinn, and Nilah.

If you’re wondering about Nilah, she’s a new character revealed back in June.

With the previous teaser, we heard of a “star-studded music collab” and today we learn that it’s a music video featuring Porter Robinson and his song “Everything Goes On.”

It will be revealed on July 14 when the event is scheduled to kick-off, and you can find the embed below alongside the official trailer.

Pokémon's wallet-busting online store is offering an exclusive Charizard trading card that has gotten fans rather excited.

Special Delivery Charizard is an eye-catching take on everyone's favourite Starter evolution - which imagines him as a postman.

The card is strongly reminiscent of the famous Dragonite promo card given out many, many years ago to celebrate the Pokémon franchise's first movie launching in cinemas.

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Aside from our eternal love and gratitude, lovely folks who choose to support RPS at the premium tier get extra perks - and one of those is getting regular access to free game keys. Today I'm excited to tell you that we have two more games stepping up to the code plate, and you can choose one of them to take home for free later this week: The Longing or Ghost On The Shore, both beautiful and contemplative games.

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Summer is definitely in the air in Fortnite as the Vibin’ theme of the season continues to spread. A new Summer Beach point of interest can be found both on the beach and in the water east of Sanctuary. At the start of the season, the old Loot Lake that got a Chapter 3 Season 3 expansion was the place to party, but now that’s moving more to the other big body of water.

With the new inclusion of floating platforms, notable Fortnite leaker @HYPEX confirms the yearly Fortnite Summer Update will be hitting next Tuesday, July 19 across all platforms. There might even be an Item Shop bundle coming similar to the Summer Legends Pack that is still available with items from Chapter 2 Season 3.

It is currently unknown what sort of form the Summer Update will take in Fortnite, but there have been plenty of hints that the Reality Tree will soon transform Sleepy Sound just as it did Logjam Lumberyard earlier this season. It certainly won’t stop there, as roots are currently headed towards other popular locations as well.

We are just about at the midway point of Chapter 3 Season 3 and we have yet to see some of what was teased in the Collision event with Jonesy and the Foundation going after Geno.

***Light Spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder Below***

Thor: Love and Thunder has been out for a little over a week now and fans can’t stop talking about all the hilarious action that the movie features. Whether it’s Thor’s tumultuous relationship with Stormbreaker, Russel Crowe’s exaggerated version of Zeus, or the many one-liners that get dropped throughout the film, it’s hard to pick what moment made fans laugh the most.

If there was one consistent gag throughout the film that never failed to get people laughing, though, it was probably the screaming goats. Known as Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, these two magical goats are given to Thor at the beginning of the movie as a gift as a thank you present.

Thor happily takes them, much to the dismay of The Guardians of the Galaxy. You see, the problem is that even though these goats can be helpful, as they can fly and do all sorts of other neat things, they do have a bit of a screaming problem.

Interestingly enough, these goats weren’t always screaming. In fact, director Taikai Waititi mentioned in an interview with Insider that someone in post-production suggested they add it in.

And where did that someone get the inspiration for the screaming goats? From non-other than Taylor Swift’s hit pop song Trouble…well technically. Back in 2013, someone overlayed this song with the sound of a goat screaming, and it worked perfectly.

Since Naughty Dog’s Summer Games Fest announcement that The Last Of Us is getting a PlayStation 5 remake, gamers have been up-in-arms on social media over whether or not the infection-killing dad simulator even needs a remake. According to two developers at Naughty Dog, the remake isn’t the “cash grab” gamers have…

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The latest Fortnite hotfix has unvaulted the Combat AR, bringing another weapon from the Battle Royale game’s past into the present Vibin’ season. In this guide, we’ll run you through where to find the Combat AR in Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3, so you can try it out again for yourself.

Fortnite Combat AR Location

The Combat AR can be found as floor loot, in chests, and by fishing at fishing holes.

The rarity of the weapon will depend on where you pick it up. Floor loot will give you a Combat AR of Common, Uncommon and Rare rarities, while fishing holes have a chance of dropping an Epic or Legendary rarity variant.

Today Square Enix released a new trailer, screenshots, and release details of the upcoming tactics JRPG The DioField Chronicle.

While we pretty much already knew the release date, now we get the confirmation that the west gets the game on September 22 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

The trailer is the same we saw in Japanese, but with English voice-overs and text, while we also take a look at new screenshots.

We also learn about two special editions.

The Digital Deluxe Edition will include in-game items that can be used “from near the start of the main game:” the Knight’s Spear weapon and Mystical Ring accessory. You also get digital versions of the Soundtrack and Artbook. It’s priced $74.99 (the standard edition is priced at $59.99).

On top of that, a physical Collector’s Edition set priced at $169.99 is also available, including the following.

• The Diofield Chronicle physical game. 
• The DioField Chronicle Board Game – a competitive board game set in the world of the video game, The DioField Chronicle.
• The DioField Chronicle Pin Set – a set of pins with four different coat of arms designs, each representing the Rowetale Alliance, Granvell Order, Blue Fox Mercenaries, and the Schoevian Empire.

You call see all the items in the gallery.

Early purchase bonuses include a weapon, the Rhopasto Knife, and an accessory, the Recruit’s Bangle.

Below you can watch the trailer and enjoy the screenshots.

New strategy RPG The DioField Chronicles will be released in September, following a demo in August.

The tactics title was first announced at the PlayStation State of Play in March, but will be released across PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Switch, and PC.

To celebrate the release date - 22nd September - Square Enix has released a new trailer with a fresh look at the story.

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What's with all the cute frog-centered indie games right now? A Frog’s Tale, Schim, Frog Detective, Paradise Marsh, Olliefrog Toad Skater, Teacup, Frogsong - it feels like we're in the middle of an (incredibly adorable) frog uprising. Not that I'm complaining, I'm more than happy that our amphibian friends are getting the love they deserve and one such game is Time On Frog Island, a cosy adventure where you play as a gruff sea captain who has been shipwrecked on an island that is chock-a-block with, you guessed it, frogs.

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Genshin Impact 2.8 preview livestream has finally concluded, and miHoYo has released a bunch of redeem codes for players to claim freebies. The latest Genshin Impact 2.8 livestream redeem codes offer in-game rewards, including Primogems, Mora, Enhancement Ores, Hero’s Wit, and more. So without any further delay, this Genshin Impact guide provides you with the complete list of 2.8 livestream redeem codes.

Genshin Impact 2.8 Livestream Codes

Before moving forward, it’s worth noting that these codes are only valid for a day. So we highly recommend redeeming them at your earliest to get nifty freebies.

Here’s the list of codes released during the Genshin Impact 2.8 live stream:

Prime Day 2022 comes just as the global graphics card market slowly emerges from a devastating crypto-coma. That means some prices are back to normal, some aren’t, and the entire concept of a deal becomes kind of nebulous and squishy. And yet, there will undoubtedly be people out there desperate for a new graphics card – any new graphics card – so let’s take a look at what’s out there.

The bad news is that the vast majority of Prime Day GPU “deals” still reach above the respective card’s original retail price. The good news is that I’ve found a small handful of offers that are, if nothing else, good value by the incredibly whacked-out standards of the past two years. First up, there are a couple of Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series cards worth considering in the UK, including an MSI-made RTX 3070 (that Ebuyer have price matched). Sticking with RTX cards, which can run both DLSS and DLAA, GameStop have a reasonable RTX 3060 deal for US buyers.

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Zombies are a staple of video games, as are games based on zombie TV series. The latest in that latter trend is Kingdom: The Blood, a new game based on the hit Netflix horror series Kingdom. The game is in development for PC and mobile platforms.

IGN hosted the first Kingdom: The Blood gameplay trailer on their official Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/IGN/status/1546676044542902274

The trailer shows a Korean warrior slicing his way through various foes, both human and undead. According to IGN's preview, developer Action Square motion-captured a professional Korean sword dancer to inspire the combat animations and system. As Kingdom is also a period story, the team paid special attention to replicating historical details for clothing and locations for Kingdom: The Blood. Netflix bills the game as a "zombie RPG". It will feature a story mode, an arcade-like Conquest Mode, and PVP combat. Players can create their own character and customize them.

The Boys Season 3 has sadly come to a close. As with the first two seasons, this is a show that manages to combine the superhero genre with excellent commentary about fame and power and how that affects those with it and those at the mercy of those with it.

The Boys offers many different plotlines, most of which are still open as the show has been renewed for a fourth season. This opens the door to many questions for the series going forward. So, without further ado, here are the 10 questions we have after watching The Boys Season 3.

***Warning: Spoilers below for all the way up to the end of The Boys Season 3 below. Read at your own risk.***

Tribes of Midgard Season 3: Inferno Saga has been announced today to be coming Aug. 19 for PlayStation consoles and PC. However, on that same date the game will release onto Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles for the first time. For those PlayStation and PC players that already own the game this will be a free update.

A recent press release for the news shares that Tribes of Midgard Season 3: Inferno Saga brings “a new Saga Quest and Boss, the Volcanic Spire Biome, Spear weapon, and Fishing, as well as Survival 2.0, a total revamp of the core game mode to offer a more relaxed but engaging experience that rewards exploration and creation.”

Tribes of Midgard was recently a PlayStation Plus title back in May of this year, so a large portion of players that picked it up then will be prepared for Season 3: Inferno Saga.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the game as it maybe hasn’t been on your console of choice, Steam describes the game as:

In case you haven’t heard it yet from literally every other publication on the planet, today marks the start of Prime Day, the annual capitalism ritual wherein Amazon pushes every working class person into a locker and steals their lunch money. While much of the promotion is total bullshit, there’s the occasional…

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There's a familiar-looking game at the top of the iPhone app chart here in the UK, a battle royale platformer based on colourful obstacle courses and It's a Knockout-style survival rounds.

But it's not Fall Guys, no. This is Stumble Guys, a suspiciously-similar app that's also in the top 10 chart on Google Play.

As reported by MobileGamer.biz, Stumble Guys has been around for a while in soft launch, before exploding in popularity this year. Downloads have spiked over the past few months, with up to 1.5 million players now downloading the game per day.

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Level Infinite and Hotta Studio revealed a new trailer of the upcoming online RPG Tower of Fantasy.

This time around, the trailer is all about battle gameplay, specifically based on its weapons.

They can be transformed via upgrades and have different degrees of rarity with increasing stats.

Each weapon you can use has four types of skills: general attack, dodge, weapon-specific, and combination, with general attack skills also divided into special stage attacks and stalls.

Currently, there are twelve weapon types in the game and you can equip three at the same time.

Here are the different effects weapons can have:

Do you love Mass Effect? How about League of Legends and Arcane? Well, fans of both of these hit franchises are surely going to love this amazing fan-made video that was recently posted.

Created by Youtuber ZeoNyph, the video below is an amazing take at what it would look like if the characters from the Mass Effect series got their very own Arcane-style intro.

The sculpted, clay-styled rendition of characters like Fem-Shep, Wrex, and others combined with the imposing imagery of Geth and Saren makes for one hell of an amazing cinematic, especially when overlayed with Imagine Dragon’s Enemy overtop of it.

This Mass Effect and Arcane mash-up is the second such video that ZeoNyph has managed to have gone viral, with their take on what Horizon Zero Dawn would look like if it were made in 1996 also getting a lot of attention. If you like this content, be sure to head over to their Youtube page and subscribe.

In this guide, we’ll be talking you through everything you need to know on evolving Happiny into Chansey in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. This includes how to get a Happiny, obtain an Oval Stone, and use this to evolve it into a Chansey. We’ve also explained how to evolve Chansey into Blissey for your convenience.

Evolving Happiny Into Chansey in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To evolve Happiny into Chansey, you need to make it hold an Oval Stone during the Daytime.

To do this, open your bag and select the Oval Stone, then choose the ‘Give’ option and select the Happiny from your party. As long as it’s holding this during the Daytime, it’ll eventually evolve into Chansey.

It’s worth noting that your Happiny doesn’t have to be a specific level to evolve into Chansey, either. As long as it’s holding the Oval Stone during daytime, you’ll be all set.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl both use the real-world clock for the in-game time, so as long as you’re playing during daytime hours, it’ll be daytime in the game.

Getting an Oval Stone

There are two ways you can get an Oval Stone in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

The first is by simply catching multiple Happiny’s. Happiny has a 50% chance of holding an Oval Stone when it’s caught in the wild.

The other way is to go to Route 209 and head to the Lost Tower. When you’re inside, go to the second floor and battle the trainer (Youngster Oliver) across from a Poke Ball item. After you’ve beaten them, interact with the Poke Ball to get an Oval Stone.

Finally, you can get an Oval Stone from the Grand Underground by searching around. A Hiker NPC found under Twinleaf Town will also trade you some.

It's a fairly common occurrence for gacha games to cross over with popular IP. It's not every day, however, for a gacha game to hook up with a verified classic. That's the case with Arknights and The Nine-Colored Deer, a classic Chinese animated film. The film is the subject of the game's latest crossover event, which kicks off on July 14, 2022.

The Arknights event is a simple one, requiring players only log in during the event period to net the reward. The main reward is a new playable Operator, the titular Nine-Colored Deer. This time the magical deer has been reimagined as a more humanoid character. She appears in-game as a 5-Star Abjurer-type Supporter character.

Check out the Arknights Nine-Colored Deer character trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYB4B6fYE1I

The Arknights x Nine-Colored Deer event trailer evokes the classical styling of the original 1981 short film. Also known as A Deer of Nine Colors, the film was produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The film was inspired by Buddhist Jataka tale of the same name. It drew its look from a set of cave paintings discovered in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China.

Curious viewers can actually watch the original film in its entirety below. It was uploaded by the YouTube channel Unraveling China with English subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcGVqaes8dA

Gruesome side-scrolling Metroidvania Blasphemous is a pixel art game where a burly man in a very pointy hat smacks the daylights out of unholy monstrosities, from Spanish devs The Game Kitchen. Now they’re back – the devs, not the monstrosities – with something a bit more than a game. It’s a VR platform for co-op board games called All On Board!, and its Kickstarter launches today. Have a 2D-looksie in the trailer below, but maybe mute it or you’ll have the song stuck in your head all day.

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